A scary day for Cloud
by Aaron B
Summary: A halloween fic for Cloud's new family! CloudxTifa


A scary day for Cloud

Cloud took another look at himself in the mirror, looking critically at the blue outfit he was wearing. It had taken Tifa all week to convince him to dress up, and she had spent the entire day trying to get him into a stupid Gi Tribe outfit, but that was were he had drawn the line. He was still dressed as something terrifying, but he was less embarrassed about looking like a Shinra MP than a ridiculous tribal creature.

"You done yet?" He heard Tifa shouting as she ran past the bedroom door, chasing an overexcited Marlene to try and fix a red ball on a stick to her head.

"Nearly!" He shouted back, over a sudden crash as Marlene collided with a chest of drawers. The young girl instantly burst into tears, and Cloud shook his head. He had never taken an interest in Halloween, even when he was little he had hated walking around Nibelheim in the bitter cold, gathering up sweets he didn't really like in his little bucket and having to give all the money he was given to his mother (bringing him up as a single parent had been hard for her). He breathed a deep sigh, looking over his outfit one more time before he put the blue hat on. Picking up the toy gun he was using that night (a gift that he hadn't been able to turn down from Denzel), Cloud opened the door, and saw Marlene, tear tracks only just fading on her face, finally get the finishing touch attached to the head of her mog outfit.

"Cloud!" She yelled, her face lighting up as he came into sight. She ran from her bedroom, leaving behind an exhausted Tifa, a wide grin on her painted face. "What do you think?" She asked, doing a twirl so quickly that she nearly fell over.

"Whoa!" Cloud just managed to grab her arm before she fell on her face. "It looks great, Marlene." He said with a smile. "Now, are you gonna be a good little mog for me and Tifa tonight?" The little girl nodded vigorously. Cloud looked up to Tifa, just in time to see her looking away. Had she been watching him? Then, he found himself watching her, watching as she pulled her hair up so she could fit it under the cap that was part of her cute cactuar outfit. She had put the outfit together carefully, and though she hadn't said it, this night was important to her. There had been a long era of peace ( there was still the occasional call for Cloud to wipe out some strange creature, but at least Sephiroth had had the decency to stay dead for a while), and during this period, Barret had named Cloud and Tifa godparents to Marlene. Even though he still stayed over every weekend, he was so busy helping rebuild the world that they were basically Marlene's parents now. This made tonight the first night they would spend as a family, and it was more for her sake than Marlene's or Denzel's that Cloud had agreed to come trick or treating. Suddenly, she turned back to look at him. No matter how quick his reactions, Cloud was certain she had seen the tender look on his face before he turned away. Thankfully, Denzel came out of his bedroom at a sprint, covered in cardboard tubes painted green ('I'm a Malboro!' He had wailed when Cloud asked what he was), covering up what could have been a very awkward moment.

She breathed a deep sigh, watching as the kids raced each other up the path to yet another house. Tifa had managed to bear up reasonably well so far over the night, but now her legs were starting to ache, her head was pounding from all the screaming and shouting and she was almost certain that tomorrow she would be suffering from a cold. Yet again she asked herself why the hell she was doing it. But the question was quickly answered, when Marlene came back from the door on Cloud's shoulder, waving a hundred gil note, clenched firmly in her hand.

"Marlene, come back! You can have the toffee apple!" Denzel shouted, chasing down the out of reach girl.

"Nu-uh, Denzel!" She called gleefully "The old lady gave it to me, so it's mine!"

"Clooooooud!" Denzel whined.

"Marlene, we agreed that you two have to share any money back at the bar, remember?" Cloud said, looking up into her face as she leaned over his head.

"But…!" Marlene started, on the verge of complaining.

"No buts!" Cloud said firmly, placing her back on the floor, "One more word about it from either of you, and im taking the money AND the candy."

"But…!" They both said simultaneously, before Cloud raised a warning finger, and they both lapsed into a sulky silence. "Did you see how much candy those guys just got?" Cloud said, feigning surprise as he pointed at a knot of children dressed as wolves, each carrying a large fistful of brightly coloured boiled sweets in multicoloured wrappers. Marlene and Denzel were instantly rushing up another path. Cloud stood up straight again, flashing her the smile he only did for her (at least, she liked to think it was just for her).

"You really know how to handle them…" Tifa said with a sigh, leaning against a lamppost.

"Well, I had a good teacher." He replied, and their eyes met for a moment. Tifa instantly looked away, pretending to look around the neighbourhood again. It was a beautiful area on the outskirts of Edge, massive houses at least twice as big as they needed to be, large gardens round the front and (from what she had heard) bigger ones round the back. Suddenly, unbidden, an image came to her. Her living in that house, watching her children playing in the massive freedom of the back garden, then climbing back into a double bed with her dream man. Her dream man held her close, looking down into her eyes with his bright blue ones, and she pushed a hand up into his spiky blonde hair, drawing him in for a…

"Hey? You alright?" Tifa's eyes flew open, and she realised she had closed them, totally intent on her fantasy. Cloud was looking at her, concern in his eyes.

"Yeah…I-I'm fine." She said, forcing a smile, but in truth, she was absolutely devastated that even in her dreams, she still couldn't get close to him.

"You look pretty tired." He said, still full of concern. "Let's make this the last house." He said decisively.

"No! No it's fine…" She began, trying to get up much to quickly, and stumbling forward…He caught her in his arms. She looked up into his eyes, just as close to him now as she was in her fantasy. He looked straight at her himself, something else filling his eyes now. Fear? Suddenly, her hand acted of it's own accord, pushing up into his spiky blonde hair, held firmly under the blue cap on his head. She pulled his face down, and he didn't resist. She felt his breath against her lips…

"DENZEL!" They jumped apart, Tifa whipping around to look at the young boy, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he ran towards them with a thousand gil note in his hand, a tearful Marlene in pursuit. Tifa leaned back against the lamppost, feeling close to tears. She had almost had the moment she had been waiting for years for. Cloud had soon broken the fight up, putting the money into his wallet and promising to give them half each later if they promised to stop complaining about going home.

The children were soon walking happily together in front of them, making a start on the massive amounts of candy they were carrying in their pumpkin buckets (Cloud had insisted, for some reason, that they shouldn't use normal buckets). Tifa was trying to lag behind, afraid of an awkward silence between her and Cloud, but as soon as she made to slow down, he slipped an arm around her back. He gave her another of his heart-melting smiles.

"Just in case you trip again. I've gotta keep an eye on both of you girls apparently." He said, referencing Marlene's stumble at the bar. She blushed instantly, keeping her arms determinedly folded, not knowing what to do with herself. They walked most of the way like that, the silence between them was absolute, but Cloud didn't seem to mind. He seemed perfectly happy to just walk along with his arm around her. She finally plucked up the courage to put an arm around him. His smile widened, and he pulled her closer.

Cloud sat nervously in the bedroom, waiting as Tifa put the children to bed. It was well past twelve o'clock, and both the children were on massive sugar rushes, making her job much more difficult than usual. They had broke apart as soon as they had entered the bar, and now he had no idea what would come next. He had spent months, years really, waiting for this moment, and now it was so near, he wasn't sure he was ready. All of his life, he had had no experience with any kind of woman, and this lack of experience was stinging him with fear now. What would she want from him? Would she expect him to initiate a kiss this time? What if he was useless? All these questions and more were rushing through his head as Marlene's door closed. His heart started thumping twice as fast as normal as he heard quiet footsteps getting nearer and nearer, and then stop just outside the bedroom door. He heard her take a deep breath and open the door. She stopped dead just a few steps in when she saw him staring at her. Their eyes met, and this time, neither had the power to look away. Cloud stood up, walked slowly up to her, trying to build up the courage to do what he had always wanted to do, doing a little countdown in his head, promising himself that he would kiss her when he reached zero. 10. She was still looking into his eyes. 9. She looked nervous too…8. He was getting closer. 7. He could hear her breathing deeply now. 6. She was so beautiful…5. He was as close as he could get. 4. He felt her hand slip into his hair again. 3. He couldn't wait anymore. He pulled her close to him, pushing his lips onto hers. They pulled away, looking at each other, massive smiles on their faces, then they were kissing again, Cloud pulling the cap off her head and putting a hand into her flowery smelling hair. It was like fire and ice were running through his body, pushing through his veins with every pump of his heart, burning and freezing and melting and renewing every part of him. After what felt like a hundred times the time he had waited, the kiss finally broke. She put her head against his chest, and he stroked her hair gently, unable to believe that in one night they had moved past years of awkwardness. He kissed her on the neck, then put his mouth near her ear.

"Close the door." He murmured, hearing her own breath quicken as she felt his tickle her skin. She turned and did as he said. She walked back up to him, pulling him down for another kiss, and he pulled her backwards, so that they both fell onto the bed. A groan of pleasure escaped his lips before he could control it, forced out by the feeling of her body against his. She giggled lightly, then started the kiss again. 'Did she just laugh at me?' He thought nervously, then, a totally different thought entered his head. 'This'll show her' He thought with a mischievously. He put hand on her back and another on her waist, pulling her tight against him, making her breath quicken slightly. Then, he flipped them over, so he was now on top of her, slipping his tongue into her mouth. He heard a badly suppressed moan, and couldn't help but laugh back. He pulled out of the kiss, looking down at her lovingly, then he put his mouth against her ear again. "Trick or Treat?" He asked, grinning devilishly at her as she ripped his shirt off.

"Treat." She replied with a smile, pulling the covers over them both…


End file.
